NO. I 



CH UAN MIAO SONGS AND STORIES — GRAHAM 



93 



drawers Je Gi uses to put the silk clothing in. 

 Bo Na (the mother of the girl) carried her 

 things out and they were carried away to the 

 groom's house. She told the girl's brothers 

 to go along with these presents. }e Go also 

 told the people to carry the presents away. 

 (These chests of drawers are filled with 

 clothing.) Je Gi hired a man and his wife 

 to go along with the presents. He also hired 

 a young man to go along in charge of affairs. 

 They all went along with the chests of silk 

 clothing. They went past the groom's tenant's 

 gate into the groom's guest room. 



When the younger brothers arrived they 

 ate a noonday meal provided by the groom's 

 family. When the older brother came he 

 drank the colored wine of the groom's family. 

 When all the younger brothers arrived they 

 sat near the chests of drawers until night. 

 They watched the gifts until next morning, 

 when they were counted and handed over. 

 The older brothers smiled, and also sat near 

 the chests of drawers all night. 



When they had sat until midnight, and it 

 was time for passing over the presents, in- 

 cluding domestic animals, then the groom's 

 fam.ily set wooden tables on each side and 

 also a bamboo table in the center. He also 

 took a straw mat and spread it on top of the 

 table. Then they asked, "Who will count the 

 clothing?" They also asked, "Whom shall we 

 call to count the skirts?" They replied, "Call 

 the manager for the girl's father." 



They counted the embroidered skirts of 

 the mother, and there were 300 of them. 

 They counted the black garments of the 

 father, and there were 300. They took the 

 skirts they had counted and put them into 

 the chests of drawers. The black clothing 

 they put into a barrel. 



They had received the embroidered skirts 

 and the black clothing which were very good. 

 Then it was asked, "Whom shall we call to 

 escort the chests of drawers into the room?" 

 "Call the brothers to do so." "Who shall be 

 called to escort the barrels?" "Call her broth- 

 ers to carry them with their hands." 



The chests of drawers were carried into the 

 bedroom of the groom, and placed in front 

 of the groom's bed. 



You say, "There are two girls washing 

 their hands and standing below the wall of 

 the house; washing their hands and feet, then 

 placing their hands on their hips." They 

 took off their brass bracelets and put them 

 down, and the bracelets resounded. Then 

 they reached out with their hands and lifted 

 up a cup of wine for the bride's brothers to 

 drink. When this wine was drunk, the girls 



held out their arms to prevent the brothers 

 from going out of the room (until they had 

 drunk more). 



A So7ig about Escorting the Bride (488) 



When the weather is fine the flowers bloom 

 near the irrigating ditch. When it rains, the 

 fruit falls down near the stone. 



This year the time came when Ntz'i Vang 

 was going to give his daughter away in mar- 

 riage. He then sent a messenger and invited 

 a woman to escort the bride, and a manager 

 (a male). These two people dressed up well 

 like a bride. They came and visited with the 

 bride one evening. When the chicken crowed, 

 the mother and the father arose and prepared 

 breakfast. They killed the chicken for the 

 bride to eat. But she was very angry and 

 would not eat. Her mother said, "Every girl 

 must go as a bride. It is not that your father 

 wanted people's money and things, and it is 

 not that we have sold you so we could pay 

 our debts." 



Then the daughter become more angry and 

 v.'ept in her room. Then the people who were 

 to welcome the bride, and the bride's younger 

 brothers, brought the Jiu sheng and played 

 it, and people were numerous. 



They escorted the bride halfway; then they 

 pulled up a bamboo tree and took it along. 

 They went to the house of the family that 

 was welcoming the bride. The family of the 

 bridegroom arranged tables and stools and 

 awaited them, and brought wine to welcome 

 them. On the way the older brother cov- 

 ered the head of the bride with an umbrella. 

 The younger brother led her by the hand. 

 After they entered the home of the husband 

 they remained there three days. 



After three days they were going to return 

 home. The bride also wanted to return with 

 them. The woman who escorted the bride 

 then took the bride and gave her to the 

 mother of the groom. Then they all returned 

 home. 



When they reached their home, the mother 

 of the bride said, "You have escorted her 

 away. I am afraid that she will not mingle 

 with the groom's relatives." The woman who 

 escorted the bride said, "When we escorted 

 her away, she mingled with them." 



A Song Urging a Girl to Leave Her Home 

 in Marriage (536) 



When the weather is clear the daughter 

 wears an embroidered band on her head and 

 goes up on die flat. Her father and mother 

 gave her a silver ornament. When she had 



